Friday, April 28, 2017

Once again, God's timing is impeccable, and this is one of those times I am totally floored that he cares that much about me to speak to me through my guardian angel. (My guardian angel shall remain nameless, but I'll give one hint: He is a student from my first year teaching in 1988.)The devil has been messing with my mind today. He tends to do that when I am on the verge of victory in some area. I decided this afternoon to message said G.A. and ask him and his wife to pray for me. His response blew me away: He said, "wow. 5 minutes ago I got a 'you need to call Ms. Williams' as clearly as if you were sitting here next to me....I think we need to talk."So, talk we did! I told him what was going on, and he told me just what I needed to hear. AND.it.came.from.God.through.his.mouth.to.my.ear. There is NO other explanation of why I would message him right after he had that "feeling/message." Anyway, the bottom line of the message was for me not to worry, so I won't!.God's timing is impeccable, but we have to be willing to listen for his voice.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Some people would say that what I'm about to write about is nothing more than "luck." I don't subscribe to that; I give credit where credit is due: GOD.HERE I wrote about the saga of the $1788 job to repair a coil on my AC unit. Now, for the update:I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as a friend recommended. It took a week because the owner was out of the country, but I did hear from him. He sent a second repairman, one of his best, for a second opinion. Low and behold---The first guy was WRONG, so he had them order the wrong part! For the five year-old unit, the compressor had blown for the second time. This time they theorize it was due to my fins being bent after my brother pressure washed my house two years ago. (Lesson learned: Do it MYSELF, and I shall!). So, because I've been so "patient," the owner is knocking the normal $1400 one man job to $900. Whether $1400 is actually what it normally costs, I don't know and don't care. The bottom line is I am getting it for half the original quote, AND I don't have to dip into savings to do it! While I was on the phone, the owner asked me if I would notify the BBB that the situation was resolved. Not so fast...I was nice, but I told him I would not until the issue is truly resolved. I will, however, let them know that pending the completion of the job, I am satisfied it is progressing in that direction. So, thank you Beverly, for suggesting I contact the BBB. As I did so, I knew God would take care of things, and He did!

Monday, April 10, 2017

I was/am a single parent. I left my ex in December of 1998 after fleeing the house to a neighbor's and calling the police. I didn't realize he had left red marks on my neck until the cops came that night. They carted him off to jail, and I mobilized, calling my dad, who in turn called my brother and nephew and his wife. We packed the house until 2am if I recall. The next morning I appeared at the jail to see if they could keep him away from the house since he was getting out on a PR bond. They gave us until noon; we pulled out the last load a few minutes before that, and my son and I moved in with my parents and rented a storage unit for virtually everything else. The judge had said, "Don't take anything that belongs to him." So, it was. I did leave him some dishes and the living room furniture. Oh, and when he got to the house, he called me and asked, "Where's my f---ing money? You took my f--ing money!) (He did side jobs he never told me about to fuel his beer and tobacoo.) Yes, my niece-in-law found $200 as we were packing.We lived with my parents for nearly 3 years. During that time, I took on my first part-time job as a Partylite candle consultant, going into homes for home parties. When I worked it, I did very well, but my introversion held me back. Over the years, I began teaching after school, co-ordinating after school with my BFF, teaching summer school, and teaching extended learning when we were a year-round school system. If it meant extra money, I did it. See, my ex never paid child support save one six month period about 6 or 7 years ago when his wages were garnished. I found out years ago that since I was not on welfare, the state would not go after him. (Thanks, cheap Governor Mark Sanford, for not adding SC to the National Child Support Network.)I was and am not afraid of work, though I prefer using my mind to do it. Over the years my parents helped us some, but primarily it was left to me. Many times I felt overwhelmed, drowning even. There were many times when I used the credit cards to pay bills and repair bills. Through it all, I had one whom I could always count on to pull me through: God. He always provided our needs. Today I felt overwhelmed with a repair bill whereby I know the company has inflated its labor charges to cover the part on my AC unit being under warranty. $1788 for 4 hours of labor? Really? When I told the repairman that, all he could do was flash a sly smile and shrug; he doesn't make the charges.So, I will get through this just as I have every other challenge that comes with being a single parent of a household. I look at our two lives--mine and my ex's. I survived cancer even after the tumor perforated the colon. I am looking at retirement in 51 days, and I have 3 part-time jobs to supplement that (online mentoring, tutoring--which are separate jobs--and petsitting for one couple) He, on the other hand, has prostate cancer, was homeless nearly two years ago (and who knows how many other times?), is on disability due to his back, and is an alcoholic. He has been in pain since before I knew him (his back). What do I have that he doesn't? Jesus. Jesus has been with me every step of the way. Because of that, I may be downtrodden, but I am not defeated.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Matthew 7:21-23English Standard Version (ESV)

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

As Jesus says here, there are many who *think* they are going to heaven---they may go to church or think of themselves as *godly* people; they may bow their heads and say their daily prayer---but truly, their actions and speech, particularly their speech, contradict their assertions. They are nasty people who have nothing even remotely resembling Jesus in them. This is only a few verses of what the Bible says about the tongue:

Matthew 12:36-37 - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.(Read More...)

James 1:26 - If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion [is] vain.

James 3:6 - And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Finally, "out of the mouth, the heart speaks." Yes, what is in our hearts is what comes forth from our mouths. When virtually everything that springs forth is degrading others, how can there be any Christ in the person? Ecclesiastes 10:13 tells us that "Pride is the beginning of sin..." Pride is a hideous sin for it will separate the person from God forever. Picture someone who is unable to admit any wrongdoing or apologize because of his/her pride. That is a miserable person (at the core) who aims to make everyone else miserable as well. What is that person's fate?

When given a cancer diagnosis, why are some people spared and others die? For that matter, any sickness.Here http://onedayatatime-ginger.blogspot.com/2008/07/handling-what-we-are-given.html I wrote about getting my cancer diagnosis and the morning of the surgery *knowing* I would be fine. My dad is in the middle of immunotherapy for cancer in a lymph node. We are optimistic, but of course, we won't know the outcome until after his treatments and he has another pet scan.

A childhood friend I'm friends with on FB reported a few months ago that her father-in-love has cancer. I have been praying for him. Sadly, yesterday she reported there is nothing more that can be done, and hospice has been called in.

Two years ago my mother was sent home under hospice to die from congestive heart failure. To shorten the story, by December of 2015 she had decided to get up from that hospital bed, and with the help of two physical therapists, she is now walking with a walker and getting her hair done each Friday. My parents go where they want around town, as long as someone drives them.

Two weeks ago a friend was hospitalized with pneumonia and pleurisy. He nearly died, but God spared him, and he is now home with a long road of recovery.

Why? Why did I and my mother get a pass, and seemingly my father and my friend, but my other friend's father-in-law didn't? We have lived in a fallen world since the event in the garden. Yes, God is the great healer and could heal anyone at any time, but His ways are not our ways. There are some things we will never understand on this earth. Could it be as simple as "It's not our time"? Yes, it could. The moral is take every day as though it were your last and appreciate it for what it is. None of us know how much time we have; Dad is 89, mother is 84, I was 44 when diagnosed, my friend is 59, and my friend's father-in-law is around 70. Some of us get a pass, but others don't.

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.